Plenty News

New York City. 1863. The Civil War raged on. An extraordinary thing occurred amid the dangerous streets and crumbling tenement houses of the Five Points, the notorious 19th-century Lower Manhattan slum. For many years, Irish immigrants escaping the devastation of the Great Famine settled alongside free-born Black Americans and those who escaped slavery, arriving by means of the Underground Railroad. The Irish, relegated at that time to the lowest rung of America's social status, received a sympathetic welcome from their Black neighbors (who enjoyed only slightly better treatment in the burgeoning industrial-era city). The two communities co-existed, intermarried, raised families, and shared their cultures in this unlikeliest of neighborhoods.

This is an important piece of work.

Janelle Gray's RAGE will be at Wyly Studio Theatre March 31-April 9. Go see RAGE to ask questions, hear stories, and celebrate rebellion of all forms.

This month, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents  some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more  information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551. 

Although the technical aspects of the production are fabulous, the crown jewels here are what goes on on the stage. The sword fighting is impressive. Even the scene changes provide their own hilarious entertainment - while baroque music plays, a group of dancing and clowning nuns move the scenery. Saving the best for last, the acting in this production is extraordinary.

At the beginning of the semester, I did not get into any of the shows I auditioned for. I was upset, but thought that it meant I was going to have a quiet and boring semester. I was wrong. My advisor asked me if I wanted to stage manage a show for her. This was something that I had never done or ever thought I would do, but I took a chance and I'm so glad I did. Here are some tips that I learned as a first-time stage manager.

Actor, singer, piano man, and now entertainment manager? Michael McAssey has his hands full, and he loves it.

An odd couple find themselves holed up in an Alaskan whiteout with plenty of issues to work through

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) today announced new dates for QPAC’s Clancestry – A Celebration of Country, which will now run from 13 to 28 May 2022, with the two-week program of mostly free events bringing together First Nations voices, ideas and talent through performance and professional development opportunities.  

Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) will end its 2021-2022 season with Little Women…Now, a world-premiere adaptation by Ensemble member Donna Hoke.  Little Women…Now will run for five weeks, from April 21- May 22 and will star RLTP Ensemble member Lisa Vitrano alongside Alex Watts, Brittany Bassett, Heather Gervasi, Sabrina Kajwaty, Jake Hayes and Ricky Needham under the direction of RLTP Ensemble Member Doug Weyand.  

Kids in the Rotunda, Madison's favorite family-friendly Saturday arts performance series, wraps up its winter/spring season with five in-person shows in April.

Aaron Sorkin’s hit Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee’s seminal 1960 novel has finally reached us, following Covid delays and a few real-life legal dramas. Lee’s estate sued Sorkin for making changes to the characters, while the since publicly disgraced (and removed) Mockingbird producer Scott Rudin bullied every other adaptation of Lee’s book off the stage.

Director Nadia Latif returns this month with the hotly anticipated Marys Seacole written by Jackie Sibblies Drury.

River Stage, the NT's free outdoor festival packed with music, dance and unforgettable live performances returns in July; alongside KERB's open-air market featuring some of London's best street food traders.

Horton Records announces the signing of acclaimed roots music guitarist/singer Brad Absher and his band, the Superials, and will release their label debut album, Tulsa Tea.

Last chance to 'sail the ocean blue' with Sasha Regan's smash hit award-nominated All-Male Company at Wilton's Music Hall. Must end in London on 9th April before setting sail to the Theatre Royal Winchester from 21st - 27th April.

The national tour of Waitress, featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, opened at the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music last night, where it is set to run through Sunday, April 3.

Lindsay Duncan stars alongside Hilton McRae and Emily Bruni in the UK tour of August Strindberg's The Dance of Death, adapted by Academy Award-winning playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz and directed by Arcola Theatre's Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen.

The latest extraordinary piece of theatre -- another must-see -- that I have had the privilege to attend is Desert Ensemble Theatre's production of Rajiv Joseph's ALL THIS INTIMACY, playing for one more weekend (April 1st to 3rd). The play has plenty of laughs, but it is not a comedy. It tells the story of a college professor who has impregnated three different women, and the fallout from this unintended happening.

Dutch National Opera has announced its 2022/2023 season, with La Liberté? as its central theme. It promises to be a jam-packed season with no fewer than 15 productions, 4 world premieres, 2 European premieres, 6 new productions, 4 family operas as well as a new edition of the Opera Forward Festival.